my ($foo,$bar,$baz); for my $row (@stuff) { ($foo,$bar,$baz) = @$row; write; } format STDOUT = @<<<<< @||||| @### $foo,$bar,$baz #### use Data::Dumper; use Math::Matrix; my $a = Math::Matrix->new( [1,0,0], [1,0,0], [1,0,0], ); print Dumper $a->transpose();